Hello, my name is Bex Schwartz and I am about to sing you a ditty. [A Ditty:] This is my home in the blogosphere. It's not as round as a bathosphere. But it's my place in cyberspace so I hold it dear. BLOG. O. SPHERE!
Hug me, please.

Monday, April 10, 2006

Full disclosure: my boyfriend is buddybuddy with Jeff, which is why we schlepped to Philadelphia (to hang out with him).

But: this movie is amazing. Jeff has created a captivating portrait of Daniel Johnston (the man, the myth, the legend), of whom I've been a fan since the early 90s when Vin Scelsa would enthuse about him on "Idiot's Delight." Daniel, if you don't know, is a brilliant singer-songwriter who slid into a very deep, dark and disturbing battle with mental illness. And this movie - which is really a biography as opposed to a doc -- is gorgeous in its storytelling (well, Daniel "tells" via hundreds of audio cassettes he compulsively recorded over the years, and there's lots of incredibly revealing interviews with Daniel's friends and fambly and industry veterans, and then Jeff "shows" the story in several genius ways, ranging from beautiful footage to animation to simple-yet-effective shots of the aforementioned cassette tapes). I saw the film on Saturday, and I can't stop thinking about it (and listening to my old Daniel Johnston tapes)

If'n you're in NYC: see it at THE SUNSHINE THEATER143 East Houston Street on the Lower East Side(212) 330-8182

And if you've already seen this amazing movie of AMAZINGNESS, then you'll appreciate this photo:

After the screening, we headed to a Belgium Beer Bar called "Eulogy" where Jeff (I'm sitting next to him) held court in an extensive and enlightening q&a. The bar was pretty crowded so they had to sit us in the COFFIN ROOM. (Yes, our beer bottles are resting on a coffin. The coffin contains a skeleton wearing that Hawaiian shirt thing you can see in this photo). Just like in a Funeral Home.Funeral HomeFuneral HomeI’m going to the funeral homeBuy me a coffin shiny and blackI’m going to the funeral and I’m never coming back.